Allegations of Favouritism Towards Argentina and M...

By Priya Nair — 16 July 2026 — 3 min read

Allegations of Favouritism

As the World Cup progresses, allegations of favouritism towards Lionel Messi and the Argentina national team have been widely discussed. These claims have gained traction among some fans and observers, particularly following certain matches and decisions made during the tournament. Social media has become a platform for these discussions, with various posts and memes circulating that suggest a bias towards the Argentine side.

One notable instance involved a post on X, which garnered over 1 million views, accusing FIFA President Gianni Infantino of being pleased because, allegedly, all of Messi’s competition had been eliminated. Additionally, a TikTok post, liked more than 2 million times, made unsubstantiated claims about Messi offering to pay for additional penalty kicks. These online discussions have led some to label Messi as “FIFA’s princess,” a term that reportedly dates back to the 2022 World Cup.

The allegations intensified after Argentina’s match against Egypt, which Argentina won 3-2. The coach of Egypt, Hossam Hassan, described the game as “unfair” and stated that his team experienced “injustice” after a goal for Egypt was disallowed due to a foul, and a potential foul by Argentina was not investigated. Hassan suggested that FIFA might have wanted to keep the reigning world champions in the competition, possibly to ensure Messi remained in the running. The Egyptian Football Association also expressed serious concerns regarding the consistency and fairness of decisions that influenced the game’s outcome.

Online Petition and Team’s Response

An online petition, hosted on argentinaout.com, has gained significant attention, calling for Argentina’s disqualification from the competition. The petition, which surpassed its target of 10 million signatures by Wednesday evening, alleges that FIFA and match officials have “actively favoured” Messi and Argentina. It questions the fairness of the competition if the winner is perceived to be predetermined.

The controversy also picked up after Argentina’s opening match against Algeria, where Messi, who is the team captain, reportedly avoided a yellow card for a foul that critics argued would have resulted in a send-off for any other player. The claims were further fuelled after Argentina’s Round of 32 clash against Egypt, where they made a comeback, scoring three goals in the final 13 minutes to overcome a 2-0 deficit, despite Messi missing a first-half penalty.

Despite the widespread allegations, Lionel Scaloni, the manager of Argentina’s national team, has dismissed claims of FIFA favouritism. He stated that such accusations have been made against Argentina for a long time and that social media tends to magnify everything. Scaloni also mentioned that similar accusations were made in 1986 when Argentina won their second World Cup title. He argued that with VAR and current technology, it is “next to impossible” for anyone to be unfairly aided.

Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s refereeing chief, also denied the claims of favouritism in the Argentina-Egypt match. He emphasised that while constructive discussions about decisions are part of football, unfounded allegations have no place in the sport. Collina asserted that nobody can claim FIFA refereeing can be influenced by anyone, including the FIFA president.